The Hampshire Jail and House of Correction is located in the city of Northampton in the rolling hills of western Massachusetts. The region is home to several colleges including Amherst College, Hampshire College, Mt. Holyoke College, Smith College, and the University of Massachusetts.

The Sheriff /Facility Administrator is Robert J. Garvey. Sheriff Garvey was appointed in 1984 after the death of Sheriff John Boyle. Sheriff Garvey was elected for a full term in 1986, 1992, 1998, 2004 and in 2010. Sheriff Garvey is active in the field of corrections as an instructor at The University of Massachusetts where he is a faculty member of the Criminal Justice Program. Sheriff Garvey has been an advocate for the accreditation process in the field of corrections where he has served on the Commission on Accreditation for Corrections where he has served as an auditor, a member of the Executive Committee, the Standards Committee, a Commissioner and is past Chairman of the CAC. In 2008 Sheriff Garvey was awarded the Walter Dunbar Award for his contributions to the accreditation process. The National Sheriffs’ Association awarded the Ferris E. Lucas Award for Sheriff of the Year to Sheriff Garvey in 2002.

In 1985, the current Hampshire County Jail and House of Correction was completed and occupied. It replaced a small Civil War era facility. The new facility is located 2 miles northwest of the center of Northampton MA. The facility was designed to house 148 inmates. As an aid to the state’s overcrowding prison system, a 100 bed modular building was erected in 1988, increasing the facility’s bed space to 287.

The Hampshire Jail and House of Correction is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Corrections through the American Correctional Association (ACA), as well as through the National Commission on Correctional Health Care. The facility received initial accreditation from ACA in August 1990, and has been through the reaccreditation process every three years since then.

The County of Hampshire and the Hampshire County Commission was dissolved December 31, 1998. The Hampshire County Commission was the parent agency of this department. The parent agency is now the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

The Hampshire Jail and House of Correction houses Federal, State and County Inmates. The Federal and State Inmates are held upon agreement with the respective agencies.

The Hampshire Jail and House of Correction consists of five buildings:

The Modular Unit, which is within the enclosed perimeter, consists of two sixty man-housing units divided by an officers control room. This unit is dormitory style living with eight man rooms, and four man rooms. The unit also includes a day room area in each 60-man area where television and leisure-time activities are provided. There are treatment or meeting rooms, program space and the building also houses a Dental Room and a culinary arts kitchen.

The Inmate Property Storage Building, also located within the secure perimeter, houses inmate personal property. This building is also a modular building that was erected the same time as the Modular Unit.

The Minimum Security Building is outside of the secure perimeter and is designed as multiple occupancy. It has a food delivery kitchen and weightlifting area.

The Maintenance Building was constructed in 1990 to help maintain the vehicles, equipment and grounds of the facility. Most repairs can be completed on grounds, to help save repair costs.